Gerard Butler is heading for the bank, starring in Relativity’s heist drama “Den of Thieves.”

Christian Gudegast is set to direct from his own script, co-written with Paul Scheuring, in which a legendary bank heist crew decides to rob the Federal Reserve in Los Angeles right under the nose of a rogue sheriff’s deputy.

After logging years in development hell, writer/director Christian Gudegast must be feeling fairly happy right now. He’s finally locked down a leading man for his heist thriller Den Of Thieves, with Gerard Butler set to star as a master criminal caught in a tricky situation.

Gudegast will be relieved that he’s actually reached this stage, since he originally co-wrote the heist script with Paul Scheuring back in 1998 and watched it tumble through the void of meetings, drafts and decisions. At one point, Peter Berg appeared set to direct it, but moved on to other things. Then, in 2008, Gudegast was handed the chance to call the shots himself.

He has Butler on to play the thief figuring out his most audacious robbery yet, taking down the Federal Reserve in Los Angeles under the nose of a corrupt sheriff’s deputy. And the plan becomes even more complicated when he’s caught between two groups of criminals. Relativity is backing this one and has brought the project to Cannes to sell international rights.

There’s no mention of when Gudegast might actually have the cameras rolling, and Butler’s schedule is fairly busy. He’s already dropped out of the Point Break remake because of a clash with Olympus Has Fallen sequel London Has Fallen. Yet we’re betting Gudegast might be happy to hold off if need be – he’s waited this long, after all…

Gerard Butler trades one heist movie for another after the falling out from POINT BREAK remake

The “300” and “Olympus Has Fallen” hero is set to star in Christian Gudegast's “Den of Thieves” for RelativityGerard Butler has traded one heist film for another, as he has signed on to star in Relativity's “Den of Thieves” just one week after falling out of Alcon's “Point Break” remake, TheWrap has learned.Christian Gudegast will direct from a script he co-wrote with Paul Scheuring.Story follows a legendary crew of bank robbers who plan a heist in LA's Federal Reserve under the nose of a rogue deputy.Mark Canton is among the producers, while Butler will executive produce with Chris Bender and JC Spink.It's unclear when production will start, as Butler must wrap Alex Proyas’ “Gods of Egypt” before he turns his attention to WB's “Geostorm” and the “Olympus Has Fallen” sequel, both of which already have release dates.Butler has been circling “Den of Thieves” for the better part of a year, though Relativity waited until Cannes to announce the project to help position it in the marketplace.